Todd McShay’s NFL mock drafts are some of the most respected in the business, as the ESPN analyst clearly puts in a lot of work doing research and making carefully curated selections for each team.

With under a month until the 2014 NFL draft begins, McShay decided to not only bless us with his first-round selections, but also clue us in on how he believes the second round will shake out. His 4.0 mock draft with full analysis can be viewed at ESPN.com (subscription required).

Let’s take a peek at how McShay’s latest mock selections came together, followed by a closer look at some of the more interesting picks the guru made.

Todd McShay's 4.0 Mock Draft

Pick

Team

Player

Round 1

1

Texans

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

2

Rams

Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn

3

Jaguars

Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo

4

Browns

Blake Bortles, QB, UCF

5

Raiders

Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

6

Falcons

Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

7

Buccaneers

Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M

8

Vikings

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

9

Bills

Eric Ebron, TE, UNC

10

Lions

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama

11

Titans

Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

12

Giants

Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

13

Rams

C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama

14

Bears

Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh

15

Steelers

Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State

16

Cowboys

Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State

17

Ravens

Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame

18

Jets

Brandin Cooks, WR, Oklahoma State

19

Dolphins

Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia

20

Cardinals

Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville

21

Packers

Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU

22

Eagles

Marqise Lee, WR, USC

23

Chiefs

Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana

24

Bengals

Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State

25

Chargers

Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State

26

Browns

Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State

27

Saints

Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech

28

Panthers

Joel Bitonio, OT, Nevada

29

Patriots

Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame

30

49ers

Jason Verrett, CB, TCU

31

Broncos

Ra’Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota

32

Seahawks

Xavier Su’a-Filo, G, UCLA

Round 2

33

Texans

Tom Savage, QB, Pittsburgh

34

Redskins

Cyrus Kouandijio, OT, Alabama

35

Browns

Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB, Nebraska

36

Raiders

Anthony Barr, DE/OLB, UCLA

37

Falcons

Dee Ford, DE/OLB, auburn

38

Buccaneers

Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri

39

Jaguars

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois

40

Vikings

Lamarcus Joyner, CB, Florida State

41

Bills

Ja’Wuan James, OT, Tennessee

42

Titans

Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame

43

Giants

Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State

44

Rams

Deone Bucannon, S, Washington State

45

Lions

Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State

46

Steelers

Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech

47

Cowboys

Jeremiah Attaochu, DE, Georgia Tech

48

Ravens

Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois

49

Jets

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington

50

Dolphins

Jarvis Landry, WR, LSU

51

Bears

Keith McGill, CB, Utah

52

Cardinals

Demarcus Lawrence, OLB, Boise State

53

Packers

Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame

54

Eagles

Terrence Brooks, S, Florida State

55

Bengals

Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State

56

49ers

Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt

57

Chargers

Kyle Van Noy, OLB, BYU

58

Saints

Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado

59

Colts

Chris Borland, ILB, Wisconsin

60

Panthers

Bruce Ellington, WR, South Carolina

61

49ers

Marcus Martin, C, USC

62

Patriots

Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State

63

Broncos

Martavis Bryant, WR, Clemson

64

Seahawks

Jack Mewhort, OT, Ohio State

Best Available

1

Bishop Sankley, RB, Washington

2

Loucheiz Purifoy, CB, Florida

3

Bashaud Breeland, CB, Clemson

4

AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama

5

Marcus Roberson, CB, Florida

ESPN.com

High Riser: Cody Latimer to Kansas City Chiefs

Doug McSchooler

One of the most eye-catching picks in McShay’s latest mock is the one that the Kansas City Chiefs are projected to make at No. 23. The draft specialist believes that the AFC West contenders will overlook more notable wideouts to select Cody Latimer of the Indiana Hoosiers.

McShay even acknowledged in his analysis that this selection would be a surprise:

This is the big surprise pick of the first round. He might not go off the board quite this early, but I was blown away by his game when I finally got to study his tape recently. He does a great job of getting off the press, has extremely reliable hands and is a threat after the catch -- three things that make him a perfect fit for a West Coast-style offense. He is dealing with a foot injury but his healing is ahead of schedule, and he recently ran in the 4.4-range at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds.

He went on to mention that the Chiefs would also consider Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State here, a player that has been consistently mocked by most experts around this draft position.

Is Latimer a first-round pick?

Yes, he should go in the first round.No, he isn't talented enough to come off the board in the first round.Submit Votevote to see results

Is Latimer a first-round pick?

Yes, he should go in the first round.

34.3%

No, he isn't talented enough to come off the board in the first round.

65.7%

Total votes: 2,527

Kansas City fans would be surprised if their receiver-starved club went for Latimer over Benjamin, especially after many of them watched the big Seminole star win the BCS Championship Game with a catch that showed off his incredible leaping skills and big-play ability.

Regardless, Latimer has flashed greatness during his three seasons in Bloomington and still had a productive season despite the injury. The junior hauled in 72 catches for 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns on the season.

The prospect also lit up his pro day, running a 4.38 40-yard dash. NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline was in attendance for that and spoke about the impressive performance with Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star: “Scouts were surprised to the point of being impressed a 215-pound receiver was able to run so well so soon after foot surgery.”

It clearly impressed McShay and it now seems that Latimer is on the verge of becoming the biggest riser in the upcoming draft.

It’s been just over a month since McShayreleased his 3.0 mock (subscription required), but a number of players took some serious tumbles down the guru’s big board in that time.

One of those falling down is Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert, who dropped from No. 8 all the way down to No. 25 in this edition of the mock.

McShay initially explained that the Minnesota Vikings would be an ideal candidate to scoop the prized defensive back in the event that the team could not find a suitable trading partner to move down.

Sue Ogrocki

He praised Gilbert as one of the best talents in the draft class and called him the “top corner prospect on our board who has excellent speed, size and playmaking ability.”

McShay still hails Gilbert as one of the best playmakers and athletes available, but explained the reasoning for the Pokes star’s fall down to No. 25, where the San Diego Chargers are projected to rescue him:

I'm not as high on Gilbert as some other evaluators are, but I still think he's worth a first-round pick, and the Chargers have a need at corner. He gives up too much separation in coverage and isn't very physical, so he needs to be used properly. He's at his best when the play is in front of him and he can attack the ball, and he has elite ball skills and straight-line speed. He also is a huge playmaker with the ball in his hands (he had two interception returns for TDs in 2013 and had six career kickoff returns for TDs).

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller does not agree with McShay’s stance on this cornerback, saying he is the top talent at the position he has seen in quite some time:

Countering McShay's take on Justin Gilbert, I wrote last night he's the best CB I've graded in last three drafts.

Gilbert’s tumble between mock editions may be significant, but at least the Cowboys product wasn’t bumped from the draft’s first day to the second.

That is exactly what happened to UCLA star pass-rusher Anthony Barr, who went from coming off the board to the Tennessee Titans at No. 11 overall all the way down to being the Oakland Raiders’ No. 36 overall pick.

McShay’s reasoning behind this was terse, bluntly stating that he isn’t as big of a fan of the Bruins edge-rusher when compared to other analysts: “I don't have Barr ranked as high as some others, but he is a good speed rusher of the edge who could help in Oakland.”

To be fair, McShay did offer Barr as an alternative draft pick for the Arizona Cardinals at No. 20, but then went on to push the pass-rusher into the second round. McShay did mention he wasn’t a huge supporter of Barr in his previous mock, saying: “I'm not someone who thinks Barr has enough upside to be an early first-round pick, but there seem to be a lot of guys in the league who do.”

Those who have been paying attention to McShay’s media rounds may have seen this coming, as he appeared on ESPN’s First Draft podcast (h/t Rotoworld) a few weeks ago and said he would “have a hard time” selecting Barr within the first 25 picks of the 2014 draft.

Kyle Posey offered an alternative viewpoint, pointing out that it is doubtful Barr gets past New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan at 27, New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan at No. 18, the Chargers at No. 25, the San Francisco 49ers at 30 and the Seattle Seahawks to close the round at No. 32:

McShay has Barr falling to 36. I doubt he'd get past BOTH Ryans, 25, SEA/SF. Just way too talented for this slander.

Barr is an intriguing talent that has the ability to play both outside linebacker and defensive end, depending on the scheme. It is hard to imagine so many teams passing on a talented prospect that can fit within almost any defense, but McShay is predicting a hard fall for the young man this May.